Gulshan Bawra remembering Burman

Courtesy: IndiaFM
Wednesday, June 27, 2007
Today is the 68th birthday anniversary of the legendary music composer R.D. Burman. On this special day, renowned lyricist Gulshan Bawra talks about his association with Burman and how they formed the famous lyricist-music composer pair, to create some of the famous tracks.

"R.D. Burman and I entered the film industry in the same year. Like every other lyric writer, I too desired to work with R. D. Burman, but didn't get the opportunity until much later.

Randhir Kapoor (affectionately called Daboo) is accredited with offering me an opportunity to work with Panchamda. It was in the movie Khalifa, that Dabboo requested R. D. Burman that I be allowed to write the songs, and that's the story behind our coming together as a glorious team.

Pancham, Dabboo, Ramesh Behl (Rose Movies) and myself were like family. We believed in enjoying life, and this always reflected in the music we created together.

Pancham and I lived about 3 Km away (Pancham at Ondina in Santacruz on 7th floor, and my apartment was in Bandra, Cemced Apartments on the 10th floor). I could get a glimpse of his house from mine, and very often, I would see the lights in his flat on till late in the night. Usually at that hour, Pancham would either be watching a movie or working on a composition. Music was life to R. D. Burman and having inherited a royal musical legacy from Meera Burman and Sachin Dev Burman, music was 'literally' in his blood. It is believed that every creative man has at least one strong feminine attribute within him. With Pancham, it was cooking! He was an excellent cook and he used to have endless discussions on cooking with my wife Anju.

One evening, Pancham was experimenting with a new dish in my kitchen. While doing so, he was playing with a 'chamach' (spoon) and humming a tune. He said "Anju, see I am playing chamcha - tarang" and in doing so, spontaneously a tune was created 'Kitne bhi tu karle sitam' for the film Sanam Teri Kasam. This song became a big hit and secured Pancham his first Filmfare Award. Dabboo, Chintu, Ramesh Behl, Pancham, Asha Bhosle and myself were a happy united family and it is just impossible for us to believe that Pancham is no more with us.

Pancham, its not only this family of close friends who are aggrieved, the world of Indian Cinema music has forever become poorer with your parting. Pancham, we all Love you and miss you! May Your Soul Rest in Peace!"